The World Affairs Councils of America is pleased to announce that the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) will host a WACA Leadership Mission to Taiwan from April 26 to May 2, 2015. Note: Flights will leave on Saturday, April 25, arriving in Taipei on Sunday, April 26.

The 10-person Leadership Mission will be comprised of a TECRO escort, WACA President Bill Clifford, and eight delegates from the Council network. We welcome applications for these eight slots. Prospective delegates can find the application details here.

The World Affairs Councils of America will host a special 1918 Society Members Trip to Guanajuato, Mexico to visit Centro Fox, the presidential library of former Mexican President Vicente Fox. The trip will be held May 21-24, 2015.

During the four-day visit, attendees will dine with President and Mrs. Fox, receive tours of Guanajuato City and Centro Fox, visit the tequila distillery Corralejo Hacienda, and more. All attendees will stay at Hacienda San Cristobal.

The cost of this trip is $1499, payable to the World Affairs Councils of America, and does not include airfare. This opportunity is open to current 1918 Society members.

About GuanajuatoLocated in the state of the same name, the city of Guanajuato is a World Heritage Site and a historically rich area. Guanajuato is known for its fascinating architecture, which was heavily influenced by its background as a mining town, and its unique layout, which follows the natural terrain of the valley instead of the standard grid plan of colonial towns in New Spain.

About Centro FoxCentro Fox, official name The Vicente Fox Center of Studies, Library and Museum, is a presidential history center founded by former President of Mexico Vicente Fox on the site of his childhood home in San Cristobal. The mission of Centro Fox is to "contribute to the training of leaders based on social values."

The World Affairs Councils of America hosted Member Council executives, staff, and board members at this year's Spring Leadership Meeting. The program provided a unique, concentrated opportunity for fellow Council leaders to network and discuss best practices.

The World Affairs Councils of America thanks the World Affairs Council of Atlanta for hosting the program, including an excellent Opening Reception on Thursday evening, March 26, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Attendees enjoyed engaging with Fed Atlanta President & CEO Dennis Lockhart. Mr. Lockhart is the founding chairman of the World Affairs Council of Atlanta.

The World Affairs Councils of America's National Office is pleased to share with you Weekly World News Update every Wednesday. An initiative of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, this weekly digest of thought-provoking pieces from respected global sources has become very popular with the Pittsburgh Council's members, as well as colleagues across our network, since its launch over 18 months ago. We believe that all 94 World Affairs Councils will find value in this free weekly service.

Leaders within the WACA network are eligible to become part of BoardSource's membership community of more than 26,000 nonprofit leaders across the U.S. The National Office encourages all Councils to take advantage and sign up for a complimentary BoardSource membership. Please share the link - with Council colleagues, staff, and all Board members - and enjoy an array of benefits and easy-to-access news, resources, and best-practices webinars in nonprofit board leadership, as well as practical experience and suggestions from other members of BoardSource's community. Be sure to sign up today!

WACA's Best Practices Teleconference Series featured Tony Culley-Foster, who in December 2014 succeeded Heidi Shoup as President and CEO of World Affairs Council - Washington, DC. Tony discussed Annual Gala Dinners - How to Achieve Success. WAC-DC is currently preparing for its annual Global Education Gala on March 5. A recording of the call is available here.

Tony Culley-Foster brings 35 years of extensive top-level international business strategy, government relations, brand development, cause marketing, strategic communications, entrepreneurship, fundraising, sponsorship and sales expertise, as well as a "can do" enthusiasm to his business and non-profit activities.

The World Affairs Councils of America is pleased to announce a new national program series in partnership with The Rational Middle Energy Series. With nearly 2 million views and counting, the 22-film series has sparked a movement based on productive conversation around the current energy challenge and what it will take to achieve a cleaner energy future.

The film screening-and-discussion series, moderated by producer and director Gregory Kallenberg, will be offered to World Affairs Councils across the U.S. through a competitive bidding process. The application period is now closed.

Held annually for over two decades, the Conference engages our national network's leaders and members drawn from the business, civic, and education communities with leading policy-makers and experts. Speakers and Embassy Receptions

The World Affairs Councils of America is pleased to announce that it was honored with the Diversity and Inclusion (DANDI) Award in the international category.

Accepting the honor at the 3rd Annual DANDI Awards Ceremony in New York City on December 1st, WACA President and CEO Bill Clifford said:

"The World Affairs Councils of America believes everyone benefits when we create a public environment where a diverse community is challenged to share ideas about international issues while considering other points of view. For our Councils, which put a premium on civil dialogue, the commitment to the values of inclusion and diversity of thought and perspective makes us better learners, employees, leaders, and citizens."

See our video above, submitted following WACA's nomination for a 2014 DANDI Award.

Carlson & The Carlson Family Foundation and the World Affairs Councils of America continue their partnership in a national program on combating human trafficking. More than 30 World Affairs Councils participated in the 2013 program, which featured screenings of the documentary film Not My Life. The 2014 program will feature discussion forums as well as film showings. Click hereto see the schedule for the 2014 program.

As you know, WACA's 2013 National Conference in November featured a keynote address by Marilyn Carlson Nelson, former Chairman and CEO, Carlson, Inc. U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Co-chairs of the Senate Caucus to End Human Trafficking, joined the keynote discussion. It is both an honor and a responsibility that WACA embraces to advance public dialogue on this critical topic.

The World Affairs Councils of America, with the generous support of Carnegie Corporation of New York, continues its very successful Engage America Series Understanding Muslim Societies. The program will be held throughout 2014 and focuses on countries in the Middle East, as well as Afghanistan/Pakistan, and those relevant rising economic powers that are competing globally with the United States, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. More Information

Eight councils were selected to host the program, which feature notable Google experts as speakers and is supported by a grant from Google. The program also includes an Educators Seminar with a separate team of Google experts who will address how teachers and students can best leverage the tools of the new digital age to further their educational missions. More Information

The 2015 Spotlight on Turkey program, conducted in partnership with the Turkish Cultural Foundation, was launched this month with the selection of 12 local Councils.

The 2015 councils are: Santa Fe Council on International Relations, World Affairs Council of Washington, D.C., Pacific and Asian Affairs Council (Hawaii), Northern Nevada International Center, Montana World Affairs Council, World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, Dayton Council on World Affairs, World Affairs Council of Las Vegas, World Affairs Council of Seattle, World Affairs Council of Houston, World Affairs Council of Kentucky and Southern Indiana, World Affairs Council of Inland Southern California.

With a Teachers Workshop in the spring, a Teachers Study Tour in the summer, and public cultural programs in the fall, the program emphasizes classroom learning and public education about Turkey and its contributions to the global community.More Information

We are pleased to announce continued collaboration with the Korea Economic Institute of America on the Future of Korea program series. The speaker program focuses on the economic and political situation on the Korean Peninsula as well as U.S.-Korea relations.

The centerpiece of the program is a panel discussion consisting of one representative each from the U.S. Department of State, the Korean Embassy, KEI, or other relevant institutions. The panel participants typically offer a general overview presentation (approximately 60-90 minutes in length), followed by a Q&A period. The speakers address political, security, economic and financial issues pertaining to the Korean Peninsula and U.S.-Korea relations.

The application deadline has passed. Participating councils will be informed of their selection shortly.

Christian Sahner provides insight into Syria’s civil war and the impact of the emergence of the Islamic State through the lens of history. What can the country's past tell us about its future?

Christian Sahner is a historian of the Middle East. He is author of the book, "Among the Ruins: Syria Past and Present" (Oxford University Press/ C. Hurst & Co). A graduate of Princeton University and the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar, he is currently completing his doctorate at Princeton, focusing on the role of non-Muslims in medieval Islamic societies. His essays have appeared in The Times Literary Supplement and The Wall Street Journal, among other publications.

CONTEXT is distributed in partnership with the World Affairs Councils of America. For more CONTEXT episodes, visit our Virtual Library.

The WACA Virtual Library also contains recordings from the World Affairs Councils of America National Conference, sponsored programs, and recordings from our Hot Topics Conference Calls.

There are over 100 World Affairs Council events scheduled this month across the country. Sign up for the WACA Weekly Digest to receive updates from around the network that include programs you can attend, participate in virtually, get ideas about speakers, or model format. We encourage you to follow-up with the sponsoring council for more information. If we missed something or if you have a program that you would like highlighted on our website or in the WACA Weekly, please contact Ian J. Byrne at ibyrne@worldaffairscouncils.org.

The World Affairs Councils of America represents and supports the largest national non-partisan network of local councils that are dedicated to educating, inspiring and engaging Americans in international affairs and the critical global issues of our times.